Wanting Mama
by Dr. Red Rose
Summary: A little one shot about the first time Lena felt like her, Stef and Brandon truly were a family.


**A/N: so this is my first foster piece. It's something I thought of and couldn't get out of my head so here it is feel free to tell me what you think :)**

**Wanting Mama**

* * *

Stef let out a tired sigh as she walked into the house she shared with the love of her life and her son. Today had been a long day to say the least. she'd had to get up extra early to take Brandon to his morning piano lessons which meant she didn't get to share a cup of coffee with Lena or get a goodbye kiss that morning. So not only did she start out the day grumpy and tired to begin with but now three drunk drivers, two broken up fights, one armed gas station robbery and a whole lot of paper work later she was dead on her feet. As she went to hang up her coat that tired feeling was immediately swept away when the smell of lasagna and the sound of laughter invaded her senses. She moved further into the house to locate the joyous sound and found her son and girlfriend sitting at the kitchen table playing a board game Brandon had gotten for Christmas called "munchkins". The main reason they had given it to him was to help with his counting and developing his critical thinking-Lena said that was important at the age of six-but it had quickly become a game they all enjoyed playing together. Little did they know that in years to come due to an incident involving bloodthirsty competition, lots of raging hormones and one brutally played curse card it would be banned for a short period of time from the Foster residence, along with many other games-but that's a story for another time.

The police officer leaned against the wall and smiled as she watched the scene before her unfold. Brandon was sitting with nine chips next to him and was focusing intently on both a card on the table and the cards in this hand, his tongue sticking out in concentration. Something Stef remember her love did when she was thinking. Lena sat across from him with a loving smile on her face and significantly less chips next to her.

Lena began to coach him. "So if the Net Troll is level ten and you're level nine what do you need to beat the troll?"

"Uhh...'leven?"

"That's right, so what are you going to do?"

The boy put down a cared named "Magic Missile" and looked for confirmation. "That's five right?"

"That's right, which means what?" Lena asked.

"The troll is ten and I'm four-deen. I get a level. So I'm level ten. I win!" The six year old smiled excitedly and looked for confirmation from Lena, who smiled and nodded.

"That's right, you win. Good job! And do you know what that means?"

"ICE CREAM!" He shouted running for the freezer. It was now that Stef decided to let her presence be known .

She quickly stepped forward and caught her son mid-run around the waist and lifted him into her arms. "Whoa there little guy! I think she meant you get ice cream after dinner. Didn't you, love?" She turned to lena who was picking up the game.

"Yes, I did and he know it." She sent a playful glare to the sandy haired boy who giggled.

"But ice cream taste-es _soooo much_ better if you eat it 'afore dinner." He tried giving each woman an adorable pout. Lena walked over and tickled his belly invoking giggle and a squirm from her favorite second grader.

"Nice try, Brandon. Dinner first, then ice cream and maybe if you're good Mommy and I will watch a movie with you before bedtime since it's Friday. For now, Dinner's almost ready so go wash up."

"Okaaaay." The boy heaved a sigh and kissed each woman on the cheek before squirming to be set down and running to the bathroom as soon as his feet hit the floor. Stef turned to lena and grabbed her by the waist pulling the taller woman into her arms and greeting her with a loving kiss.

"Hey." She whispered leaning her forehead against her girlfriend's, a silly grin on her face.

"Hi." Lena replied, an equally silly grin on her face. "You're home early, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We had a bit of a rough day so Captain turned us loose as soon as we finished our paperwork." Lena moved her hands up to rub at her girlfriends's shoulders.

"You oaky? Anything you want to talk about?" Concern etched across he creatures. The blonde soothed her with another sweet kiss and shook her head.

"Nothing bad, just a long, busy day. How was yours? Was there a lot of assistant vice principle-ing to be done?"

"No things were quiet at work, Brandon had a snack and did all of his home work and there we went outback and played until it got dark and then he asked if we could play Munchkins. So pretty uneventful but I bet we'll have a very tired little boy by the time The Lion King is over." Lena rested her head on Stef's shoulder and giggled when the blonde rested her head on her's and let out a long yawn. "Maybe Brandon's not the only tired Foster I'll have on my hands tonight."

"And maybe he'll be so tired he won't have any nightmare tonight and we just might get a full nights sleep." Stef whispered hopefully. The past week and a half Brandon had woken up in the middle of the night, every night, crying for his mommy due to a different bad dream that would end up taking at least another hour to get him back to sleep. Stef had even dug out his old baby monitors so they would hear him as soon as he woke up.

"Maybe he will. And maybe if she can stay awake long enough a certain police officer might get a back massage while she tells me about her day once the little prince is asleep." Lena pressed a kiss the Stef's neck as she spoke, making Stef's grin wider.

"Really?" Lena has magic hands when it came to giving massages and uh...other things-but again a story for another time.

"Yup, but only if you don't fall asleep during the movie. Now," she gave the blonde another kiss and pushed her in the general direction of the stairs. "Go get changed while I pull dinner out of the oven and find out what is taking a certain trouble maker so long to wash his hands."

Stef did as she was told and went about her routine changing her clothes, taking the pins out of her hair and locking up her gun-now her handcuffs too after a particular incident one morning when Brandon thought he wouldn't have to go to school if he locked his mother's together and hide the key. Ten minutes later she reinterred the kitchen and sat down with her family for her favorite part of the day.

XXXXXXXXX

A little over an hour later the family of three was cuddled together on the couch with hakuna Matata playing in the back ground. Stef was leaning against the armrest, fighting sleep with Lena cuddled under her right arm and a batman footie-pajama clad Brandon splayed out across both their laps, snoring quietly. Lena looked over and could see Stef was fighting a losing battle with the sandman.

"Stef, come one sweetheart. Let's get Brandon up to bed." She gently shook the blonde and kissed her on the cheek.

" 'Kay." Stef mumbled groggily sitting up. She shifted the sleeping boy into her arms and stood up holding him with one arm while Lena grabbed her other hand and lead her upstairs. After tucking in the sleeping first graded and making sure the monitor was on the pair headed to their own room and began getting ready for bed. They went about completing their nighttime rituals together like always and one relaxing back rub and story about a tiring day later they we're cuddled under the blankets with Lena's head on Stef's shoulder and Stef's arms around the brunet. The two shared a loving kiss and after exchanging "I love you's" and "goodnights" the pair was asleep in minutes.

XXXXX

The sound of crying through the baby monitor jarred Lena and Stef out of their peaceful sleep. "Moments later sobs of "Mama! Mama!" Could be heard.

"I'll be right back." Stef mumbled shifting out of bed. The cries got louder. She raised her voice as she made her way down the hall so Brandon could hear. "It's okay. I'm coming, love.

Lena sat up in bed and listened to the baby monitor to see what was going on and if Brandon would be brought back to sleep with them. She loved Brandon like he was her own and she hated that he kept having these nightmares, it pulled at her heart every time she heard him wake up in so she listened carefully, maybes he could figure out what was wrong if she listened closely.

"_What's wrong, little love?_" She heard Stef ask in a soothing voice. But Brandon cried out again.

"_Mama!_" That's odd, lena thought. Stef tried again.

_"Hey sweetie, I'm right here what's going on?"_

_"No! I want mama_!" Lean heard movement thought the monitor before she heard little feet running down the hall. Seconds later a tear stained face appeared in the door way.

"Mama!" Brandon shouted running into the room and jumping onto the bed before climbing into Lena's lap where she wrapped her arms around him automatically. His voice lowered to a wimpier. "It was so scary, Mama."

"What was, my brave boy?" Lena whispered as she rubbed her hand up and down his back, not fully realizing what he had called her.

"They tooked you." He whispered hiding his little face in her neck.

"Who took me baby?"

"Dunno, they was wearing masks. But the bad men tooked you And me and mommy coundn' stop them and I don't want bad men to take you, Mama." The boy was crying agains and holding onto Lena even tighter.

"Brandon sweetie, listen to me; no one is going to take me away from your. ever. I won't let them, just like I would never let anyone take you from me. Want to know why?" A tinkly nod. "Because I love you more than all the star in the sky and I will always be here okay? No matter what."

Brandon lifted his head from it's hiding place having calmed down significantly. "Pinky promise?" He held up his little finger.

"Pinky promise." She locked her pinky with his, her other hand moving to wipe the remains of tears away and kiss pink cheeks. She looked up and saw a smiling Stef standing in the doorway, apparently she saw the everything that just unfolded.

"Mama, can I sleep with you and mommy t'night?"

"It's okay with me so let's ask mommy." She looked up at the blonde who was climbing into the other side of the bed and nodded. Brandon snuggled himself firmly between his mothers and with a sigh much to big for his little body you could practically see him relax.

"G'night Mommy, I love you. G'night Mama, I love you too."they repeated the statement with matching kisses to his head and it was then that realization fully settled on Lena. He though of her as his Mama. She was ecstatic at the idea of being a mother to this boy but worried that Stef would think she was over stepping. Within minutes he was sound asleep again.

"He called me Mama." She whisper breaking the silence.

"I know." Stef replied "are you okay with that? Because I can talk to him if yo-"

"Of course I am." Lena cut her off. "But are you though? I don't want to overstep, Stef."

"Aren't you already his mama, Lena? You pick him up from school, play with him, do his homework with him, you treat him like he was your own and I can tell you love him just the same. He even let's you comfort him after a bad dream, he doesn't even let Mike do that. Honestly, love? I think you've been his mama for a long time. Besides I wasn't kidding when I said I want to spend the rest of my life with you, wouldn't that make you a permanent fixture in his too?"

"You're sure he's not just saying that evades he's sleepy?" The worry was evident in Lena's voice.

"Are you kidding? Brandon thinks you walk on water! Every time it's just him and me, whether you at work or the store all he does is talk about you, "guess what me and Lena did today?" "Mommy, Mamma says you're not 'posta do that." "Mama told me the best-es story today at nap time." Honestly Love, I think you have a gift for charming us Fosters." The smile could be heard in Stef's voice as it moved through the dark room.

"Really? You think so?" Lena grinned back, feeling much more relieved.

"Oh yeah, definitely worked on me anyway.'you stole my hear the moment I met you, why would it be any different with him." Lena leaned over a pressed a light kiss to her girlfriend's lips.

"You always know just what to say to make me feel better."

"We'll it's the truth. Now that everything calmed down what do you say we get some sleep? Goodnight, my love and have sweet dreams." Stef wrapped her arm more securely over her son and lover.

"Good night Stef, I love you. Good night sweet boy, your mama loves you." Lena whispered as she pulled Brandon a little closer. As the little family drifted off to sleep each mother could not think of anyway their life could possibly get better.

A/N: so there is it. Feel free to let me know what you think, reviews make my day. :)


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